Uncharted Siege of Atlantis
by Sketchcat2007
Summary: A new adventure with new characters. Takes place after Drake's Deception. After Sully's daughter comes to visit Nate soon realizes she's not just here to wish her old man a happy birthday, but in fact may have found a pice of a map that contains the location of the lost city of Atlantis. WARNING: strong language, violence, and sexual content.


(Story Notes: This story takes place after Nate's adventure in the third game. He is no longer together with Elena. What I got from that game was they were engaged and something happened that split them up. This is from my point of view. I felt bad that Sully never had kids so I gave him a daughter. Jamie Haris is the name of the woman Sully had fallen for. They never married but he had a strong connection to her. If you don't like where im going with this, you don't have to read it. **  
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I am a where of my gammer. I did not do well in English. It was my worst subject and my word seems to like skipping over my grammer mistakes. So I ask that you try to ignore. This goes for any other chapters I submit. I ask that you be patient wile I write on this so pelase don't bother me with PMs and notes about uploading a new chapter. I will upload a new chapter when I am able. I have a lot of things going on in my life and this is not the only story I have to work on. Thank you.

**EDIT: **I have updated this chapter because I felt it was a little too short. The language of the birds was an idea I got wile looking up some things. Its just an idea that I thought of and want to play around with. Depending on how things go i may or may not change it.

You can find updates about this fic in my profile.)

_**SIEGE OF ATLANTIS**_

Nate found himself in the same bar that he visited on a regular bases. He found himself in here a lot ever since things with Elena went wrong. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened or who had started it… but it ended with him getting kicked out. They were supposed to get married… they had been engaged. Who backs out of getting married? It had been months since they last talked and she made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with him. Yeah? Well that was just fine with him… He sighed as he leaned on the bar, ordering another scotch as Sully jabbed on about something. What it was he didn't really know. He was kind of busy with other things at the moment.

"What?" He looked over at him.

"Kid, are you even listening to me?" Sully looked at Nate slightly annoyed, "I have been telling you about the woman I just met."

"Oh right, right... that stripper you met last week...Candy was it?"

"No... Her name is Ruby." Sully frowned slightly.

"Right, Ruby." Nate sipped on his scotch. "Honestly Sully... she's young enough to be your granddaughter. What the hell are you thinking?" He shook his head.

"What... she's only... 20..." He cringed slightly.

"Barely 20." Nate comically looked at him. "You cannot… Can. Not. Date. Her." He pointed.

Sully made a face at Nate. "Kiddo I love you like a son... But you can't tell me who I can and can not date." He slapped him on the back. Nate chuckled as he shook his head.

"Sully you are a dirty old man."

At that point the door to the bar opened and a young woman walked in. She knew exactly where her father would be... it wasn't that hard to figure out. She wanted to surprise him and come see him for his birthday, which was in a few days. Of course she didn't tell him she was coming. Surprising him was always so much fun. She may have lived with her mother but she had always been close with her father. Though, since her mother's death she had been living life on her own in a small downtown apartment. Her father had offered her a room at his place but she turned him down. She would have come to live with him if she knew he needed her, but she had nothing to worry about. Nathan Drake looked after him, and speaking of dare devil, treasure hunter… she spotted the handsome lad sitting next to her father. They were both laughing about something and she smiled as she approached. Chuckling she made her way over and grabbed her fathers shot glass right out of his hand. She then downed what ever was in the glass.

"Got room for one more?"

Sully looked up, wanting to know who had the balls to take his drink and grinned. "Baby!" He beamed as he stood and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. "What are you doing here?" He chuckled. "And how the hell did you find me?"

At the sound of the approaching footsteps Nate looked over and spotted the leggy burnet. She seemed to be around her late 20's or early 30's, skinny but built like an athlete, and judging by her size she had to be around five foot 6. She defiantly seemed like someone who was into sports. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and her cloths were tight fitting showing off her slender body and curves.

"Holy shit." He mumbled to himself. There was no way that this was Sully's girlfriend. No way in hell. The universe was not cruel enough to give one of the hottest women he had ever seen to an old foggy like sully. "Damn..." He slowly looked her up and down, and only one thing was coming to mind. Those soft, white legs wrapped around his hips.

"Oh come on... I can come visit you cant I? And besides, you're not all that hard to find." She smiled as she hugged the old man back. "You love this bar more then your cheep cigars." They both chuckled as she pulled away. "It's so good to see you... how have you been?" She sat down next to him and glanced over at Nate and smiling. "And if it isn't Nate. Look at you... all grown up." He had grown up into a fine man. It had been a wile since she had the chance to talk to him. She hadn't seen him face to face in a long time.

"Of course you can darling." Sully kissed her cheek. "I was just surprised to see you is all. Oh hell, you know me. I'm always doing good." He chuckled as he ordered another drink, and then sipped at it as he smiled at his daughter.

The woman smiled at Sully. "Good... Staying out of trouble I hope."

"Always."

Nate on the other hand, looked at the woman confused. Did he know her? She seemed to know him? Had he slept with her before? Shit. He hated when he forget the names of women that he had slept with. Not that it happened very often. Only once. Actually, maybe two times. He cringed as he rubbed his cheek. Sometimes his cheek still stung from that slap to the face he had received along time ago.

"H-hey..." He waved at her. "Man you look... great... how are you Ra... Michelle? Tracy? Erm..." He made a face.

She leaned back and ordered a drink herself then took a drink. "Oh Nate..." She shook her head as she set the glass down when he finally spoke to her. "You can't tell me you've forgotten about me..." She looked at him.

"Of course not... I would never forget you... Um... Elly?" He looked at Sully for desperate help. Sully just laughed.

"Come on Nate. Don't tell me that you forgot about my daughter... Krista." He patted the top of her head as he smiled.

"K… Krista?" Nate looked at the burnet with wide eyes. "Na uh... no way..." He shook his head. "There is no way in hell that that scrawny little girl turned out to be this hot... erm..." He coughed. "This erm... woman... in front of me."

Krista couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction to her. She looked at her father then smiled back at Nate when he finally realized who she was. "Scrawny? Excuse me... but this scrawny girl recalls whipping you several times over." She crossed her arms. Often when they were kids Nate had gotten jealous of her coming over and having all the attention. They often got into little pointless fights that often ended with her sitting on him. "Woman or no I could still whip you."

"Oh yeah right... maybe when we were kids because you stood a foot taller then me..." Nate gave her a look. "But now I'm a good foot and a half taller, and got a hundred pounds on you." He smirked as he flexed his arm, showing her the muscle that he had built up.

"Oh I don't know about that kid. Krista is still pretty strong." Sully smirked. "You know, for a girl that is." He teased his little girl.

"Oh but you were so small and cute when you were little." She teased Nate back. "Oh yeah..." She looked him over when he flexed his arm. "Finally grew into that namesake of yours? Took you long enough." She took another drink from her glass. He use to always talk about how he was going to become some great adventure and him and Sully would become rich by discovering treasure. "Hey." She looked at her dad when he teased her. "Thanks dad. I'm not a total loss you know." She chuckled

Nate arched his eyebrow. "Oh I highly doubt that she could take me." He looked at Krista. "But if you want to try... I wouldn't mind having your arms and legs wrapped around me." He smirked at her flirtatiously.

She looked at him with a smile. "Oh I don't think you could handle my arms and legs wrapped around you." She smirked back.

"You might be surprised at what I can handle." He looked her up and down. God why the hell did she have to be so damn sexy? The little tomboy he had known all those years ago was gone. She had grown into a proper woman and as usual had all the effects on him that all the pretty girls had… And the playful flirting was defiantly not helping the matter. A certain part of his male anatomy was getting rather excited, and he hoped like hell no one noticed. Specially Sully.

"Oh, I'm sure I know what you can handle." Krista smiled as she finished her drink.

"Could you please not talk like this around me?" Sully frowned. "She is my daughter, you know."

"Don't worry old man... I won't bruise her too badly... Unless she asks for it." Nate smirked at Krista.

"Its alright dad. Were just messing around." She slid out of her chair and leaned against the bar. "He's always been a flirt." She smiled at him.

"I am not that big of a flirt." Nate frowned as he rubbed the back of his head, sighing heavily. He really wasn't that much of a flirt... Just nervous around some women and that was the way he dealt with it. Yeah he liked to fool around sometimes, but it was mostly all just for fun.

"Mm hm... So you say Mr. Casanova." She then turned to her father. "So, Do you have any plans for her birthday?"

"What?" Sully looked up at his daughter.

"Your birthday?" She raised an eyebrow. "This Saturday? Plans?"

"Oh, Oh…" He nodded. "Right." Sully grinned. "I was thinking about going to the strip joint."

"Please tell me your joking..." She looked at her father with a not so amused look.

Sully smirked at his daughter. "Of course I am... " He tried to laugh it off even though he was completely serious about it.

"You are such a horrible liar."

Nate couldn't help but laugh at that. It had been a wile since someone else could see through Sully's little white lies. It had been a long time since he had seen Krista. Most of the time he was out and about on business… never had the chance to see her. That or he just wasn't around when she rarely swung by. Sully always kept in touch with her though, calling and checking up on her. He was glad that he would get the time to spend with her after all these years.

"Hey... I will have you know that I am a great liar... You just... you're a freaking mind reader... like your mother was. I could never keep anything from her either." Sully pouted as he looked at her.

She laughed. "No. Mom and I just know you all too well." She smiled. "Hey… I know… Lets all go to dinner. I'll buy."

"Nahhh we just pulled a job so Sully and I have plenty of money to buy dinner." Nate smiled at her. "Plus this is your family reunion." He chuckled.

"That's right baby girl... How often do I get to spoil my daughter?" He looked to Nate for an answer then looked back at her. "Not that often."

"What?" She looked at them when Nate had mentioned that they finished a job. "Oh no..." She placed a hand to her face. "Again?" She looked back up at them. "I thought you guys stopped all that?" She chuckled as she shook her head. "Ok, ok... Fine. You can buy dinner… But you know how I feel about you guys going on those little adventures of yours."

"Don't worry Krista... I watch the old mans back." Nate smiled as he looked over at Sully and flashed him a shit-eating grin.

"I believe that it was me this time that saved you." Sully smirked right back at him.

"Ohhhh you are going to keep bringing that up aren't you." Nate looked at him.

"Of course I am kid." Sully smirked. "How often is it that I get to save your ass?" He clapped him on the back.

She sighed leaning back. "I'm worried about you both..." She looked at them. She had wanted to go on one of their little adventures with them but Sully wouldn't have it. He had said that two people chasing after treasure and dreams were enough. She ended up taking a job working at a museum as a translator, among other things. Translating and studying pieces that comes in from all over the world. Even once in a wile she was able to go on digs but nothing like what Nate and Sully do. "Just... be careful... ok...?"

"Hey you know that I would never let anything happen to Sully... But if you're so worried why don't you come along with us some time? I know that you have always wanted to come."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Nate..." Sully frowned as he looked at him. "Now don't go inviting my daughter without my permission."

"Oh come on Sully... she has always wanted to go with us." Nate looked at him. "Let her come along just once."

"Mm..." Sully slightly glared at Nate.

Krista smiled at them. "As much as I would love too..." She looked at her dad and chuckled as she shook her head. "That's why..." She motioned to Sully. "And I wouldn't have time... I'm lucky I could get this time off from my job back in New York just to come here" She chuckled.

"At least I tried." Nate shrugged. "Sorry Krista... I think it would be fun to have you come with us some time but I don't think that Sully will allow it."

"Damn right I won't... it's too dangerous." He furrowed his brow as he looked between his daughter and Nate.

Nate looked at him. "Come on... not all of our adventures end up with us running for our lives."

"Name one." Sully looked at him skeptically.

"Its alright Nate. He's just being protective." She smiled as she tapped her father's hand. "Aren't you dad." She chuckled then looked at Nate who seemed to be having trouble naming one mission that didn't go to hell. "Sounds like your adventures are more fun then I thought."

"Alright so most of our adventures tend turn to shit. But it's not like that is my fault."

"Never said it was kid... but I don't want my daughter to get mixed up in that craziness." Sully frowned at Nate then looked over at his daughter affectionately. She was all he had left of his old life. "Now how about that nice dinner we were talking about?"

"Right." Nate rubbed the back of his head feeling like a scolded child.

"Aww look at you two... your both so cute when you argue like that." She teased. "I now know why I've missed it here." She nodded with a smile. "You two are like a sit com."

"I say we go to that nice little Chinese place that your mother was so fond of going too." Sully smiled as he wrapped an arm around his daughter as he started to get out of his chair.

"Oooo I love that place… but don't you think it's a little pricy?" She smiled as her father started to lead her out of the bar.

"Hey now..." Nate looked at her. "We are not a sit com." He furrowed his brow as he looked at her. "And we don't argue all that often anyway."

"Yeah we do." Sully smirked then looked back over at his daughter. "Alright… You know a cheap place that we can go eat at? Because I am starving."

"Me too." Nate looked over at her. "And where ever it is what kind of food do they serve?"

"Does it matter? As long as the food is good I don't give a shit." Sully looked at him.

"Good point."

"How about all you can eat and drink boys." She wrapped an arm around each man. "Only $10.00 a person. The drinks aren't much to look at but the food is great." She chuckled. "I know how you boys love the top shelf stuff but for tonight you're going to have to settle for the bottom. Baby girl isn't rich you know." She teased.

"Alright. I'm game."

Sully made a face. "Bottom?"

"Relax Sully… you've had worse." Nate smiled.

"Sooo true." He chuckled as they walked down the street to get a taxi.

Krista led her two boys to a nice little bar and grill that had all you can eat and drinks. Not to mention pool tables and cards. They bought dinner and she got the drinks but eventually lost track of who was paying for what. At the end of the night she was defiantly drunk, laughing her ass off, having a good time, and some how managed to win $100.00 from Nate in a game of pool. Finally around one o clock in the morning Sully decided that both Krista and Nate had enough and it was time to get them home. He managed to get them both into a taxi with out injury. When they all got home Krista ended up crashing on one of the couches and could care less about a blanket or pillow. Sully couldn't help but chuckle as he watched his daughter collapse on the couch.

"Don't you even want a pillow?" He just earned a few grunts and groans from her before it went silent again. Shaking his head he shifted his weight so that he could support the young man hanging off of him. "Come on Nate… lets get you to bed."

"Mm… bed…" Nate huffed quietly as he tried to straighten himself.

"Yeah that's right… bed. Come on…" He began leading the dunk and tired Nate toward his room.

"Yeah… Yeah… bed… bed sounds good…" His voice was nothing but a mumble as he tried to keep up with the old man supporting him.

After a few stumbles and straightening up Sully managed to get to his room. Leaning into the wall to keep him from falling he opened the door and pulled him through. "Okay kid… You got ta stop eating those cinnamon buns… I'm not as young as I use to be…" Finally he got the young adventurer to his bed and after fumbling with the sheets gently set him down. "Here we go…" He laid him down then grabbed his legs and swung them up on the bed. "I'm getting to old for this." Leaning down he began to remove Nate's shoes so that he would be more comfortable. Once they were off he coved him up and stood straight, placing a hand on his lower back as he stretched.

"S… Sully…?"

He looked down at Nate who was looking up at him though tired eyes. His name had been called so quietly he had almost missed it. "Yeah?"

"Thanks…"

Sully watched as he drifted off to sleep almost instantly. Smiling he turned and headed for the door. "Sweet dreams Nate…" He said quietly as he left the room.

Once out in the hall Sully sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. It had been a wile since he had to carry Nate home after getting drunk. In a way it amused him. The kid was pretty good at holding his liquor, but on some days... He chuckled softly as he walked through the hall. After getting a nice warm blanket from one of the hall cupboards he stopped in the living room and looked down at his daughter. She was already asleep and curled up on the couch. Her shoes had been kicked off and tossed toward the end of the coffee table along with her hair tie and purse. He smiled as he un-folded the blanket then tossed it over her. After making sure she was covered he stood there for a moment just looking at her. It had been a few years since he had seen her last. She had been doing well for herself. Got a job at the Smithsonian in New York. After her mother passed away he wasn't sure if she would make it on her own. Boy did she prove him wrong. Rubbing the back of his neck he smiled softly before leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

That morning Nate woke up in his bed with the worst of all hangovers. In fact all he wanted to do was curl into a ball, roll over and go right back to sleep until his head wasn't throbbing anymore. "Damn it Sully... why did you let me drink so damn much last night?" He growled and pulled the covers over his head so that the sun peaking though the blinds wasn't directly blinding him anymore.

Sully, who happened to be walking past his room at that exact moment caught what he said and couldn't help but laugh. With a smile on his face he poked his head into Nate's room. "Well good morning to you too sunshine... I tried to keep you from drinking last night but you and Krista kept egging each other on. If it makes you feel any better I'm sure she has a nice hangover too."

"Oh god... really Sully... Just shoot me now... please. I'm begging you… I am literally dying here. Put me out of my misery right now..." Nate groaned as he hid under the covers. "I don't want to live feeling like this."

"Drink some coffee and you'll feel a hundred times better." Sully smirked as he passed his room, walked over into the hall bathroom, and slammed the door.

"Asshole!"

A chuckle came from the hallway. Krista had heard the whole thing between him and her father. Smiling she held a cup of coffee and some aspirin for his hangover. The same thing she had taken for her headache when she woke and was already starting to feel better. She smiled as she walked into his room and leaned against the doorframe. " Good Morning sweetie... I brought medicine." She teased.

Nate looked up at the woman that walked into the room and squinted his eye to be able to see her. "Krista...? Oh god…" He moaned as he fell back into his pillow. "How the hell are you able to move? Just thinking about moving makes me want to retch up everything I've eaten...which by the way… probably isn't much. I don't even remember how much I ate last night…" He groaned.

"I was able to move on the account that I woke up and realized I left my luggage in the cab..." She sighed.

"Wait… You left your luggage in the cab?"

"That and I apparently didn't drink as much as you." She smiled.

Nate let out his biggest groan yet. "Don't say drink… I don't want to see another beer for six months…" He heard her chuckle, which made him smile even with a hangover. "So… no luggage huh? Does this mean your going commando?"

"Oh you'd love that wouldn't you."

"It would help me get through the day." He smirked.

She shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "I called the cab company. They're bringing my luggage for me." She walked around the bed and set the coffee and pills on the bedside table for him.

"Oh yeah?" He sat up with a groan and reached for his coffee. "How'd you manage that?" He grabbed the pills, popped them in his mouth then took a drink. "I thought you had to go down to the office?"

"Well most people do. I just had to play the first time tourist school girl here for vacation." She gave him a sweet smile. "They were so happy to help."

He chuckled. "I'm sure they were."

"What? A girl needs her personal affects."

He chuckled as she turned and headed out of his room and into the hallway. She smiled at her father who was coming out of the bathroom. He clapped her on the shoulder before she continued on and into the kitchen. She figured wile she was up she would make breakfast for the boys. After taking that aspirin and having a cup of coffee she was feeling rather good about herself and her ability to cook. When she had first woke up she didn't want to do a thing. Now she was rummaging around the kitchen like she owned the place.

"So… How's our grand adventure feeling this morning?" Sully asked as he approached the kitchen counter with a rather amused look on his face. He was of course talking about the hung over Nate groaning and moaning in the other room.

"He seems to be fine." Krista gave her father a smile as she flipped bacon in the pan that was sitting in front of her on the stove. "I didn't detect too much damage. Its safe to say his brain cells will live to fight another day."

Sully laughed.

"Hey! I heard that!"

Nate's voice came from the hall along with the flush of a toilet. Seconds later he emerged from the hall scratching at his head. He was still wearing his cloths from last night and they were all wrinkled from sleeping in them. "I'll have you know my brain cells are master worriers. They've been through worse then a little hang over."

"Is that so?" Sully raised a white eyebrow.

"It is."

Krista found herself intrigued. "Like what?"

"Sudoku." He answered simply with a shrug as he placed his hands on his hips. Sully and Krista both laughed at him. "What?" They laughed again. "Oh come on… those were had."

Sully shrugged. "You got to have a knack for it I suppose." He took a seat at the bar counter across from the stove as he laid out the morning paper.

"I'm at the master level." Krista added simply over the popping grease from the bacon.

Nate was just getting ready to take a seat next to Sully when he stopped and gaped up at her astonished. "They have levels?" He was horrified. The way he said it made her laugh.

"Well… in the ninja version they do…"

He chuckled. "Good to know I'm in the presence of a master." He placed his hands together and closed his eyes bowing in respect. "Sore wa anata o mitasu tame ni meiyona kotodesu. Sukdoku no masuta..." He was rewarded with a hand towel in the face and a chuckle from Sully.

"Smart ass." Krista gave him a playful glare.

"Shrimp."

He smiled as he took his seat. The smell of cooking bacon and eggs was making his stomach rumble. He couldn't remember much of last night. In fact he didn't remember much of anything from last night except that he and Krista had tried to see who could hold their liquor more. They never did find out who won, but judging by how empty his stomach was he would guess that he didn't eat much of anything last night. Krista had bought drinks but with all you can eat and drink they were more occupied with the drinks. Leaning back he watched Krista work her magic on the stove. She had always been good in the kitchen. To ask if she needed help would only insult her, and he was fine right where he was. The way the kitchen was set up, he had a nice view of her backside. His eyes moved from her tight black cami that stopped at the small of her back to her low riding cream-colored short shorts. He was so glad Sully was reading the paper.

He knew all too well that Krista was Sully's little girl. If he ever caught him looking at her like he had… Nate shivered. He didn't want to think about what he would do… but it wasn't his fault Krista had grown up. Sully had always been there for her. He may not have visited her all that often but he called. Nate didn't even know the old man had a daughter until she showed up one year to spend a few weeks with him. He and Krista had been 12 when they first met and at first he didn't like her. He had been jealous because Sully would turn most of his attention to her. Eventually though, they became good friends and often talked about how cool it would be to go out and find buried treasure… or a shipwreck. Years passed though and the last time he'd seen her was when he was 16. He assumed the reason she couldn't visit was because of school, and work… and her mother.

He didn't know much about her mother. Just that she had been a good friend with Sully and possibly the only woman he had ever really cared about. Her mother had wanted to settle down but Sully could never stay put for too long. Always looking for the next score… They never got married. They both went their separate ways but would always be connected though Krista. When Krista's mother died Sully had taken it hard. He didn't show it on the outside but Nate knew he suffered on the inside. That showed when sully couldn't bring himself to go to her funeral. He didn't want to believe she was gone and Krista never blamed him for that. She had a good heart.

"Nate…" Krista called out to him again.

"What?" He looked up at her getting brought out of his thoughts.

"I was asking if you wanted pancakes."

"Oh… Uhh… Yeah." He rubbed his face. "Sorry… still have a hang over." He motioned.

She gave a chuckle then turned to her dad. "How about you? Pancakes?" He didn't answer. "Dad…" Her and Nate exchanged glances before looking back at him.

"Sully…?" Nate called to him.

"Nate, turn on the News…" His voice came out worried and on edge.

"The News?" Again he and Krista looked at etch other. "Why? What's going on?"

"Just do it." It was a command.

Nate didn't like the tone in his voice. He quickly jumped out of his seat and ran to the coffee table in the middle of the room. He scooped up the remote and turned on the TV switching it to the primary News channel. What came on was a picture of a man and the headline that read "Tragedy at the Smithsonian." Krista dropped what she was doing, turned the stove off and quickly ran over to look at the TV.

"Nate turn it up." She looked at him and he didn't need to be told twice. He turned the volume up so they could hear the news anchor.

"Tragedy struck the Smithsonian today in New York as one of their lead archeologists and scientists was found dead this morning. James Mason was In charge of a new exhibit that would educate people on the lost city of Atlantis. Police believe that the murderers some how gained access into the building from the sewer system. No other information has been released at this time."

"Oh my god…" Krista looked on in horror.

"Yeah…" Sully held up the newspaper. "Figured it would make TV." He looked at his daughter. "Who was he?" It was quite clear that she had known the man.

She looked at them. "Uhh um… Mason… he… I work for him. I was helping him with the Atlantis exhibit. It was suppose to be a fun interactive exhibit where people could learn about the history and fall of the city…"

Nate looked at her. "Atlantis… As in the legendary island first mentioned by Plato?" Krista had been interested in Atlantis ever since she was kid. She spent most of her time learning what she could about the lost island. "Yes… But I don't think anything we had could… Oh…"

"Oh?" He looked at Sully then back. "Oh, what?" She looked up at them.

"There… was another reason I came here…"

"You mean you didn't just come for my birthday?" Sully gave a little pout.

"No I did… I just… I brought something with me…"

Nate raised an eyebrow. She seemed nervous. "Does the Smithsonian know you have it?"

"Not… exactly…" She gave a nervous smile.

"Oh… that's…" He looked at Sully with weary eyes. "Wonderful…"

"Damn it Krista." Sully glared at her.

"What?"

"You could loose your job over this."

"Not if they don't find out."

Nate stifled a laugh as Sully looked like he was about ready to murder his own daughter. "I hate to say it Sully but… She's got a point and she's already here. She might as well show us. What's the worse that can happen?"

"Damn it…" Sully sighed as he smoothed out his mustache. "Alright… Nate's right any way. There really isn't anything we can do about it now that you're here."

"So… what did you want to show us?" Nate looked at her.

"Well I don't have it with me…"

"But you just said…"

"Its in my suit case." She gave him a 'duh' look.

Sully looked around. "So, what's the problem? Where's your suit case?" Krista gave him a raised eyebrow waiting to see if he realized it. When he did he looked over at Nate.

"Taxi…" They both said in unison.

"Uhh… yeah." She frowned as she looked at them.

"Well that's just great." Sully sighed as he took a seat on the couch. "Well how did they tell you it'd take?" He looked up at her.

Krista shrugged as she thought about it. "About… fifteen minutes?" She then nodded. "Maybe twenty."

"Right. So I'm guessing whatever it is you have in that case has to do with your little exhibit?"

"Yes."

"And you think that something worth killing over?" Nate gave her a skeptical look as he chuckled shaking his head. He had a hard time believing that anything having to do with her little exhibit was valuable enough to kill over. He looked to Sully as if trying to get confirmation.

"I… I don't know… maybe." She started to pace. "I mean I didn't think anything of it at first. It was just something that came out of one of our digs…"

Sully watched his daughter pace franticly. "Sweetheart if you pace any faster, you're going to wear a hole in my floor. Calm down."

"But it was just a slab… its not like it had any value. The pottery they pulled out of that place was way more valuable. It doesn't make any sense…"

"Unless they weren't after anything. They could have been robbing the place and your pal got caught in the middle. It happens all the time."

"I don't know…" She finally stopped pacing. "Maybe…"

Nate glanced back at her from where he was standing by the window. He had been keeping and eye out for the taxi that had her stuff. She wasn't usually on this edge. Maybe it was the death of her boss, but something else told him it wasn't. He slid one of the blinds down and peeked back out the window. Just as he looked out, a taxi pulled up.

"Taxi's here." He informed them.

"Come on." Krista headed toward the front door. "I'll show you what I'm talking about… then you can tell me what YOU think."

Nate and Sully glanced at etch other for a moment before Nate shrugged and began to follow Krista. Sully sighed as he chuckled and followed them. They made their way out of the house and down the steps. The taxi was parked a foot from the curb and the driver was standing by the trunk looking rather unhappy. Krista was already talking to him trying to smooth things over as she paid the man. The guy didn't seem at all pleased about driving all this way to drop off luggage. That was obvious by the tone in his voice.

"Hey, relax pal." Nate walked over. "It's just a suitcase." He shook his head and gave Krista an eye roll as he pulled her case out of the trunk for her.

"Here." Sully handed the driver and twenty. He pulled the cigar he had lit up the moment they left the house out of his mouth. "A little something extra for your troubles." The mans attitude seemed to change instantly. He smiled and gave a nod before returning to his car.

"He seemed happy." Nate smiled as they headed back into the house.

"Yep. Funny how a little pocket money goes a long way." Sully chuckled, replacing his cigar.

Krista smiled as she came up behind Nate and grabbed her case. "I'll take thaaat."

He looked down as he felt the case being snatched from his hand then watched her walk to the living room with it. "Hm." He looked at his hand. "I feel like I've been violated." He looked at Sully. "Did you see how violently she ripped it from my hand?" He teased.

Sully chuckled as he lightly pushed him into the room. "So lets see this artifact of yours."

"Actually its… more of a tablet." Krista corrected him. "Well… a piece of one… actually." She unzipped her case and began to rummage through it.

"A tablet?" Sully looked at Nate who only shrugged.

After a few moments she pulled out something wrapped in cloth. Closing the case she set whatever was wrapped up in the cloth on top of it. "Ok…" She looked up at the two who were crowding next to her. "You ready for this?" She smiled then unwrapped then unwrapped the item, revealing a piece of a green stone tablet with strange symbols on it. The moment she revealed it Nate's face lit up.

"Ohhhh… No, No, No… No way." Nate pointed at her and she just smiled. "Oh ho! You're shitting me…" He looked down at it. "It can't be…"

"Uhh… someone want to fill me in on what's so special about it?" Sully looked at them. "Cause all I see is a piece of stone with symbols scribbled on it."

"It's the language of the birds." He leaned over the case looking at the piece in awe.

"Language of the what now?" He raised an eyebrow.

Nate stood straight as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He then opened them and looked back at the old man. "The language of the birds Sully!" He motioned excitedly.

"Yeah, still don't know what that is." He shrugged.

Krista chuckled at Nate's excitement. "The language of the birds is a supposed mystical or divine language. A language said to be used by the gods." She looked at her father.

"Yeah, yeah…" Nate pointed as he picked up the piece of tablet. "The language is supposed to be a myth. I mean… The closest anyone's gotten to it was John Dee."

"John Dee?" Sully looked at him. "You mean the same guy whose lab we found in that chateau, in France, while looking for Ubar?"

"Yeah."

"Ubar?" Krista raised an eyebrow. "Wait… Iram of the Pillars? Atlantis of the Sands?" She looked from Nate to her father and gave him a slight glare before looking back at Nate, as if expecting an answer.

Nate glanced at Sully, catching on that Sully never told her about that. "Uhh…" He looked back at her. "Long… story…" He looked back at the piece of tablet. "John Dee claimed that he recorded some of the language in his journals. You said they found this on one of their digs?" He glanced back at Krista.

"Yeah, or so I was told. It was found in some sort of chamber that was dedicated to the City of Atlantis."

"I can't believe they just let you walk out with it."

"Well actually…" She leaned back as she placed her hands to her hips. "They… thought I was crazy when I mentioned that it was the language of the birds so it went into storage."

"Huh… Really?" Nate looked up at her surprised.

"A mystical divine language said to be used by the gods, and discovered by a man who played around with magic and sprits?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Ok. Good point."

Sully shook his head trying to make sense of it all. "Ok, so I'm guessing this things is obviously important."

"This could be the find of the century." Nate stated.

He chewed on the end of his cigar. "Find of the century huh?" He looked up at his daughter and smiled. "That's my girl."

"What about that guy you worked for? The one who was working on the Atlantis exhibit? What did he say?"

Krista shrugged. "He seemed to believe it was worth looking into so he granted me access to study it. Of course the only way to know for sure was to get a hold of Dees journals… but I also wanted a second opinion." She looked at Nate.

"Did you?" He looked up at her hopeful.

"Did I what?"

"Find Dee's journals?"

"No."

"What? You work at the Smithsonian. You can't tell me they don't have copies of Dees journals laying around." Nate gave her a look.

"Not the ones I needed and not all of us are lucky enough to just 'HAPPEN' upon a century old journal." She quoted with her fingers earning a chuckle from her father.

"Oh great." He leaned back and set the piece of tablet back on the suitcase.

"Hey." She motioned with a hand to get his attention. "I'm not a complete idiot, thank you." She pulled a small piece of folded up paper out of her pocket. "What few books and journals we hand on Dee, had examples of the texts he wrote down in his journals." She unfolded the piece of paper and set it down over the piece of tablet. "And the ones that I could find, matched some the symbols on the tablet."

Nate looked at her then glanced down at the piece of paper. For a moment he studied it then suddenly snatched it up and laid it next to the piece of tablet. He looked at the paper then at tablet. Then looked from the tablet to the paper.

"Huh… coordinates…" He looked up at her. "But what's that got too…" He trailed off when she raised an eyebrow. "You're shitting me…"

Sully looked from Nate to his daughter. "What?"

"You translated it…" Nate looked at her in awe.

"Roughly…" She nodded. "I think… well part of it."

"You actually translated it!"

"Uhh no." She pointed out. "Only part of it. It took me four years just to do the first line, and I'm not even sure its right." She grabbed the paper and looked at it. "Most of it I… guessed on." She placed the paper back on the tablet.

"Four years?" He gaped at her. "You've had that thing for four years?"

"Yeah." She said it like it was nothing.

"And you didn't bother to tell us?"

"I was a little preoccupied just trying to prove it was apart of the language of the birds."

"So these are coordinates?" Sully grabbed the paper and looked at it.

Krista nodded. "Yeah. From… what I could make out."

"But to where?" He looked at her.

"Don't know. Like I said… I've only done the first line and I'm not even sure its right, so it could lead to nowhere."

"Or…" Nate smiled as he looked at them. "It could lead to the ret of this." He pointed to the piece of tablet.

"It's a possibility." She looked at him. "The didn't find the rest of it in the expedition, but with out the rest of the translation it would be like flying blind."

"Could you translate the rest of it?"

"Nate what are you getting at here?" Sully looked at him.

"Nothing. I'm just… wondering what the rest of it says." He smiled at him. "Come on. Aren't you the least bit curious?" He looked back at Krista. "Could you?"

She sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know… maybe. But I'd need my notes and those are back at my place… and with out Dee's actual journals…"

"Alright… what about the exhibit? Or the artifacts brought out from the dig? Maybe there's something in there that was missed."

"That's… possible." She pointed. "Some of the artifacts I've never handled could have clues…" She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "Damn it…"

"What?" Nate and Sully both looked at her.

She looked at them. "Mason…" She shook her head. "He was the only other person who could have helped with this… and hes gone. I got to get back there…" She walked over and grabbed the tablet and wrapped it back up. "Who knows what those guys were after." She placed the tablet back into her suitcase and looked at her dad. "Sorry… I guess I'll have to owe you one for your birthday."

"Wow hold on there sunshine." Sully looked at her. "I'm not about to let you go waltzing into a place that just got shot up. Specially after your boss turns up dead."

"Yeah, no kidding." Nate agreed. "Seems a little too convenient that it also happened to be the guy working on your Atlantis exhibit."

"Convenient or not I still need to get back." Krista frowned. "He was a friend and with him gone I'm the only other one who could over see the exhibit. I'm actually surprised I haven't gotten a call yet." Of course as if on cue her cell rang. "Took them long enough…" She answered her phone. "Hello? Yeah… I know, I saw the news…" turning she walked into another room for a little more privacy.

Once she was out of the room Nate turned to Sully. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If your thinking that there's more to this then meets the eye, then yeah." He watched his daughter pace in the other room as she talked on her phone. "I got a bad feeling about that tablet."

"Yeah…" Nate trailed off as he glanced over at Krista's suitcase and cupped his chin thinking. He then smiled at Sully. "So, up for a little trip to New York?"

Sully chuckled. "Hell yeah. No ones going to mess with my girl if I have anything to say about it."

"Have anything to say about what?" Krista asked as she walked back into the room.

"Nothing." Sully smiled at her. "So let me guess, that was your work calling about your boss."

"Yeah…" She sighed. "And that they need me back to help with the exhibit."

"Well then I suppose we've got a plane to catch." Nate added.

Krista blinked. "Wait… we?"

"Yeah. You didn't think we were just going to let you go on your own did you?" He smiled at her.

"But what about your birthday?" She looked at her father.

"What about it? I've had so many birthdays I've lost count." He waved it away as he walked across the room. "Come on Nate. We got to pack."

Krista crossed her arms as she smiled and shook her head. "Fine… but you two better behave. I don't want to be baby sitting you wile I'm at work."

Nate chuckled. "Relax mom. We'll be good little boys wile you work."

"Oh your funny." She mocked.

"It's a gift."


End file.
